I think that this discussion of Kenny Rogers and whether he belongs to one or the other musical genre is important. Earlier in this discussion I remarked that his music belongs more to Pop than country. Someone took this as putting him down. On the contrary. His popular songs have crossed several boundaries including pop, country, rock and easy listening. I really don't think it is a put down. Kenny R has been enormously popular. One feeling I have is that I agree with sevral of the folks on this htread that lament the fact that in this country we have a tendency to lump things together. Suddenly everyone with an acoustic guitar is a folk singer, everyone who is backed by pedal steel is country. It just ain't necessarily so. Early country music had an integrity that is often missing in the Nashville sound. I've had several song writing friends that have been told that their songs are too complex for modern Nashville, they need to simplify, they need hooks, they need to use simpler language, they need to sound more pop. Pop music is probably the biggest genre out there right now and its boundaries are blurred. Folk, country, blues, when it really comes down to it we should each have our own definitions and just play the music. The best will survive, it always does.